Staffing Change At FECI.

Business Editors

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 4, 2000

Florida East Coast Industries Inc. (NYSE:FLA) (FECI) today announced that its Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Robert H. Nazarian, has accepted a position with Merrill Corporation in his hometown of St. Paul, Minn. Nazarian joined FECI in 1999, and has been commuting from Minneapolis.

In his tenure with FECI, Nazarian has built a strong financial organization. The corporate team includes Vice President and Controller Mark Leininger; Carol Simone, Assistant Controller; and Robert Strosberg, Assistant Vice President-Financial Planning and Analysis. Each of FECI's business units has its own financial leadership, including Robert Byrne, CFO, EPIK Communications, FECI's telecommunications subsidiary; Greg West, Assistant Vice President-Administration, Florida East Coast Railway, FECI's railroad subsidiary; and Mendy Thompson, Controller and Director-Financial Reporting, Gran Central Corporation, FECI's commercial real estate subsidiary. Nazarian also implemented significant, positive changes in the company's financial management practices that support the aggressive financial goals set by senior management. Furthermore, he played a key role in establishing significant credit relationships for the Company (including a substantial line of credit).

"We are grateful to Bob for the many contributions he made to this company as part of the new management team brought on board last year. He is a total professional, and I understand his decision and commend him for doing the right thing for his family," said FECI Chairman, President and CEO Robert W. Anestis.

"It was a privilege to serve with this talented team during a turning point in FECI's history. The decision to leave was difficult, but I ultimately had to make the decision based on the collective wishes of my family. I am confident that this strong team can perform the CFO functions until a permanent replacement is found," said Nazarian.

Anestis said the search for a CFO is well underway. Controller Mark Leininger will continue to serve as the company's chief accounting officer. Prior to joining FECI, Leininger served as assistant controller for CSX Transportation. Before joining CSXT, Leininger was a senior manager for Ernst & Young and worked for clients including the PGA Tour and CSX Corporation. He earned a bachelor's from Carson-Newman College with double majors in accounting and business data processing and is a CPA.

FECI, headquartered in St. Augustine, Fla., conducts operations through four wholly owned subsidiaries, Gran Central Corporation (GCC), Florida East Coast Railway Company (FECR), International Transit, Inc. (ITI) and EPIK Communications Incorporated (EPIK). GCC owns, develops, leases and manages approximately 6 million square feet of commercial space and owns approximately 18,000 acres of land, all in Florida. FECR is a regional freight railroad that operates 351 miles of main line track, from Jacksonville to Miami. ITI provides truckload service, intermodal drayage and transportation logistics and brokerage services throughout the Midwest and the southeastern United States. EPIK, based in Orlando, Fla., is a carrier's carrier that provides bandwidth fiber capacity and dark fiber leases to telecommunications providers. EPIK currently operates the "Florida Footprint," encompassing two geographically diverse rings and more than 175,000 strand miles of dark and lit fiber connecting 12 of the largest cities in Florida and reaching 80 percent of the state's population, and is rapidly expanding.

This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements represent the Company's present expectations or beliefs concerning future events. The Company cautions that such statements are necessarily based on certain assumptions, which are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, changes in general economic condition, and changing competition and technology which could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated herein. Further information on these risk factors is included in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company assumes no obligation to update the information contained in this news release.